Understanding My Social Location and Experiences Essay -- Personal Exp

The intersection of dominant ideologies of race, class, and gender are important in shaping my social location and experiences. By exercising my sociological imagination (Mills, 1959), I will argue how my social location as an Asian American woman with a working class background has worked separately and together to influence how I behave, how others treat and view me, and how I understand the world. The sociological imagination has allowed me to understand my own â€Å"biography†, or life experiences by understanding the â€Å"history†, or larger social structures in which I grew up in (Mills, 1959). First, I will describe my family’s demographic characteristics in relation to California and the United States to put my analysis into context. I will then talk about how my perceptions of life opportunities have been shaped by the Asian-American model minority myth. Then, I will argue how my working class location has impacted my interactions in institutional settings and my middle/upper class peers. Third, I will discuss how gender inequalities in the workplace and the ideological intersection of my race and gender as an Asian-American woman have shaped my experiences with men. I will use Takaki’s (1999) concepts of model minority myth and American identity, Race; The Power of an Illusion (2003), Espiritu’s (2001) ideological racism, People Like Us: Social Class in America (1999) and Langston’s (2001) definition of class to support my argument. Before I analyze how my social location has influenced my experiences, I need to talk about my family’s demographic characteristics in comparison to our community and the larger U.S. society: In my hometown, Asians make up the third largest racial group (23%). Whites make up 51.3% and H... ...ding white, male superiority. Back in high school, I dated a non-Asian male from my class who often talked about how Asian women are â€Å"hot and sexy† yet â€Å"more faithful to men and less aggressive than White women.† At the time, I thought this was a compliment and I often tried to conform to this stereotype in order to satisfy my partner. Images of Asian-American women as both innocent and dangerous have legitimized any racist and sexist policies directed at Asians and women. Works Cited People Like Us: Social Class in America http://www.pbs.org/program/people-like-us/ Race; The Power of an Illusion (2003) http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm Takaki, R. (1999). The myth of the â€Å"model minority.† In D. M. Newman (Ed.), Sociology: Exploring the architecture of everyday life: Readings (pp. 255-259). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge